Missing Wis. infant found alive in tote bag

Feb. 7, 2014
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Kayden Powell / AP

by Josh O'Leary, Iowa City Press-Citizen

by Josh O'Leary, Iowa City Press-Citizen

WEST BRANCH, Iowa -- The search for a missing Wisconsin newborn ended in a frigid gas station parking lot Friday when West Branch Police Chief Mike Horihan found the child, swaddled in blankets, alive and apparently healthy inside what authorities said was a plastic tote.

Horihan said he and one of his officers searched various locations before they located 6-day-old Kayden Powell about 10 a.m. next to a gas station just north of Interstate 80 at the West Branch exit.

Hours later, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin charged Kristen R. Smith, 31, of Denver, with kidnapping.

Horihan said he heard the newborn cry, and the child appeared conscious, responsive and breathing well. It was unclear how long the child had been outside the gas station and how he arrived there. The temperature was 1 degree in West Branch - minus 9 with wind chill - mid-morning.

Horihan said he was amazed and elated to find the child, who was transported to an unspecified hospital for evaluation, in good condition.

"It was awesome, and to be honest with you, it's not what I expected," Horihan said outside the BP station just after authorities had rolled up the crime scene tape.

The discovery came a day after federal, Wisconsin and local law enforcement agencies began the search for the baby, whose mother had reported him taken from a bassinet at a home in Town of Beloit, Wis., a town of 7,500 people about 180 miles from West Branch.

"Kayden's family has been notified of this fantastic news, and our efforts now center on reuniting the family with Kayden," said Town of Beloit Police Chief Steven Kopp at a news conference in Wisconsin. "Our investigation will continue until all potential leads have been exhausted."

Jay Patel, an employee at the West Branch BP station, said he came into work shortly after 6 a.m. Friday morning and didn't notice anything suspicious between then and when authorities arrived. Patel said investigators took surveillance footage from the gas station.

"We have a couple of cameras out there," Patel said. "I don't know what they can find. They have the CDs."